Tuesday, 31 January 2017

JG 26 Eichenlaubsträger Major Priller in front of his FW 190 details his latest combat engagement to his fellow pilots; photo by PK reporter/war correspondent Doege.

Recently acquired a selection of these little 16-page publications via wartimepress.com.(link below) 'Luftflotte West' was a weekly and then monthly Zeitschrift or magazine for Luftflotte 3 published 1941-44 and intended for Luftwaffe personnel of Luftflotte 3 based in German-occupied areas of Northern France, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Vichy France. In this particular issue there is little of great interest for the blog, aside from a brief look at the work of Fw 189 "Aufklärer im Osten". Given the date this edition appeared, most of the text unsurprisingly refers to the 'heroic' defeat of 6.Armee at Stalingrad and plays up Germany's role as bulkwark against the Eastern (Mongolian) hordes; " Deutschland - Bollwerk Europas gegen den Osten ". Elsewhere a two-page travelogue about the Russian people describes a journey made by train and aircraft out to the Front in the East waxing lyrical about the great vastness and open space of the Steppe ; " Ich habe vergessen wie vielgestaltig, wie frei, wie lebendig Russland war.." This edition also featured a full one page illustration given over to Arno Breker's work " Kameraden".

" ..every day in the East our Aufklärer face new tasks and challenges ....the Fw 189 - a weapon feared by the enemy because of its high speed, superior maneuverability and heavy armament....here the recce aircraft is at altitude, the crew have put oxygen masks on. While the pilot orbits enemy positions, the observer relays every move and deployment to our own troops on the ground..the type's twin boom configuration enables the three-man crew to be housed in a fully-glazed central nacelle affording all-round visibility.."

Friday, 27 January 2017

Good friend of the Luftwaffe blog John McIllmurray has established a new FB page to show off those marvellous creations realised with the help of AIMS parts, conversion sets and decal sheets. Here a splendid G-6 and Ju 388L conversion. Much more at the link below!

According to the seller this is Wurmheller's wingman being carried on the shoulders of his ground crew after a successful sortie in (presumably) "white 21", a machine on the strength of the Geschwaderstab - (cf 'Dans le ciel de France' - 1943 Vol 4)

Also on offer from the same seller, an A-8 with III./JG 301 seen at Stendal during mid-to-late 1944 ('black 10' possibly?)

Monday, 23 January 2017

shown here courtesy of Marco and currently on offer at koelsch333 this Friedrich 'black 10' of III./JG 51 (or possibly JG 3 -traces of an obscured emblem under the cockpit?) with yellow fuselage Rumpfband has been stood back on its legs after a belly landing (note bent prop blades) somewhere in the East and appears to be undergoing dismantlement (wings removed) for rail transport to a rear area repair facility. Click to view large

Edit- image caption via George Morrison. Thank you!

"..the wingless 109F "schwarze 10" is indeed from 8./JG 3, and can not be from JG 51. JG 51 invariably used a white vertical Balken on their III Gruppe machines, beginning on their 109 F-2s, then the 190 A-3/4/5/6, then again when they reconverted to 109 G-6s. This was true across the Gruppe, irrespective of the color of the Kennung. III./JG 3 used a rather-tall vertical bar on their 109Es and 109Fs..."

Luftwaffe historian and author Erik Mombeek has spent the best part of 20 years tracking down and meeting up with many of the former members of Luftwaffe fighter wing JG 77, collecting their testimonies, copying their documents and assembling the best of them for this second "Special Album" of the "Luftwaffe Gallery" series. This is not a day-by-day history but a compilation of very nice photographs (many published here for the first time) and new translated personal accounts (by this blog author) from the pilots and ground crews who were there, superbly illustrated with the aircraft profile artwork of Thierry Dekker, one of the best in his field.

The story of JG 77 is told here in broad strokes and to all intents and purposes for the first time in English. Characterized by the diversity of its origins, the unit fought on all fronts where the Luftwaffe was committed (hence the title of the album) and its pilots flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109 virtually from first to last.
JG 77 was notable not only for the number and quality of its emblems and personal insignia but also for the presence in its ranks of a very large number of the leading Luftwaffe fighter aces.
As was the case with Erik's first "Special Album" dedicated to the "Abbeville Boys" of JG 26, the limited print run of this latest title in the series will make it a sought-after collector’s item

You can pick up the book by going to Erik's web site here (go to 'what's new?')

The following appraisal was posted by Andrew Arthy on the Luftwaffe Research Group

" I recently bought a copy of the JG 77 Special Album, and wanted to add to the very favourable comments about it. More than just a photo album, this is an excellent little book that provides a great overview of the unit's history. The Thierry Dekker artwork is just as good as you'd expect, and I really enjoyed the numerous first-hand accounts included throughout.
Given my interest in the 1943-1945 period, I was hoping for a little more coverage of those years, but of course more photographs are available for the early war period. And those Bf109 E and F photographs are quite fascinating, with so many different emblems, camouflage schemes and victory tallies. I bought my copy directly from the author, and it was worth every euro..."

Sunday, 22 January 2017

A well-known image currently on offer here that dates from the Defence of the Reich period of autumn 1943 to spring 1944. While a heavily tinted view of the same shot featured on the jacket of Don Caldwell's superlative 'Day fighters in Defence of the Reich' the image was not captioned and does not appear inside the book. Bf 110 Pulkzerstörer (lit. 'formation destroyers') in action over a snow-covered landscape. These are Bf 110 G-2/R1 sub-types. The aircraft appear to be toting the imposing 37 mm Bordkanone Flak 18 cannon under the fuselage. This large-calibre weapon was trialed and briefly employed against USAAF bomber formations, first equipping ZG 76 in early 1944, so these machines may be on the strength of that unit. However the close-up view on the Caldwell book jacket appears to show an aircraft coded "2N + BP" - presumably of ZG 1. (ZG 76 used the M8 code through 1944-45). Bf 110 G-2 sub-types could mount various armament kits -the M 1 conversion kit (2 x MG 151/20) under the fuselage, the M 5 kit comprising two BR 21 double
pipe 21 cm Raketenwerfer grenade launchers (as here) and the M 3 armament kit of two MK 108 30 mm cannon. Aircraft such as these were heavily
armed for the bomber destroyer role but particularly ill suited for combat with enemy fighters.

Pilot Flugzeugführer Uffz. Herbert Weiner of 1./ ZG 26 seen wearing his EK I in Wunstorf in late 1943 in front of his Me 110 G-2 toting the BK 37mm Flak 18 cannon.

A line-up of Me 110 G-2 37mm Flak 18 cannon toting Zerstörer of 1./ZG 1 in Wunstorf in August 1943.

Saturday, 21 January 2017

New from Special Hobby is this Ju 88 C-4 using the ICM A-5 kit, featuring detailed cockpit, separate control surfaces, full engines and resin parts specific for the C-4 version. Decals by Cartograf feature 3 different marking options including those of 16-victory ace Ofw. Hermann Sommer of 2./NJG 2.

"..The original ICM sprues are accompanied by a new sprue with grey styrene nose section parts and additional armament. We have also tooled a new set of clear parts, detailed resin items and a large decal sheet that brings the modeller a choice of three rather attractive machines. The sheet is printed in superb quality by Italian company Cartograf, and has marking options for two all-black aircraft and one wearing a camouflage scheme. The model will be released as a limited edition only..." More on the Special Hobby site here

Having carried out intruder attacks over Britain with some success for almost a year, the Ju 88 Cs of I./ NJG 2 were transferred to the Mediterranean and the western desert of North Africa in late 1941. Ju 88 C-4 " R4+EL" (3./ NJG 2) came to grief during the transfer flight to Sicily and made an emergency landing near Naples. Crash landed by Flugzeugführer Fw Robert Lüddecke (front) on 22 November 1941 at Capodichino-Naples. Lüddecke had returned three night victories - Nachtluftsiege - at the time of the incident.

. Ofw. Hermann Sommer claimed the unit's first night kill in this theatre on 13 December 1941, a Beaufighter downed over Crete.

Spring/summer 1942, a Ju 88 C of 2./ NJG 2 at Benghazi-Berka. Note the open Bola, the Nachtjagd emblem on the nose and the white fuselage band. The drums in the makeshift fuel depot are marked B4 (87 octane avgas). The inscription on the reverse of the lower pic simply reads "Benghasi"..

Ankunft eines Junkers Ju 52 See Wasserflugzeug (als Postflugzeug) im Hafen Vathy, Insel Samos, Griechenland - arrival on the Greek island of Samos of a Ju 52 floatplane serving as a mail carrier - see this Luftwaffe Research Group thread for more information on this machine. Fabulous images!

Friday, 20 January 2017

Ju 290 A-3 "9V+DK" WNr.161 Ex "PI+PO" of 2./FAGr.5 1943. Lost on 26 December 1943 when colliding with high ground in the Pyrenees with Oblt. Nedela at the controls.
Below; Ju 290 A of an unidentified unit in Russia.